A view of a portion of the Great Wall of China, which stretches across some 1200 miles of northern China.
Image courtesy of American Memory at the Library of Congress.
Subject Areas
Art and Culture
Architecture
History and Social Studies
World History - Ancient World
World History - Asia/Far East
Time Required
One to Two Class Periods
Skills
Interpreting and analyzing written information
Making inferences and drawing conclusions
Vocabulary development
Working collaboratively
Additional Data
Date Created: 01/21/05
Following the Great Wall of China
Introduction
The famous Great Wall of China, which was built to keep the China’s horse-riding
neighbors at bay, extends more than 2,000 kilometers across China, from Heilongjiang
province by Korea to China’s westernmost province of Xinjiang. The wall
that is so well known today is predominantly a product of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),
though the building of fortified walls to protect territory along the northern frontier stretching from Manchuria to Central
Asia is a practice whose roots go back to the Qin dynasty of the 3rd century
BCE. This lesson will investigate the building of the Great Wall during the
Ming Dynasty, and will utilize the story of the wall as a tool for introducing
students to one period in the rich history of China.
Guiding Questions
What does the history of the Great Wall tell us about Chinese history and
culture?
What can we learn about China and its neighbors from studying the Great
Wall?
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson students will be able to:
Be more familiar with Chinese geography by mapping the path of the wall.
Explain the construction of the Great Wall as a product of the period in
which it was built.
Discuss in brief the dynasty- the Ming Dynasty- during which major construction
on the wall was completed.
Identify reasons for the dedication of significant resources to the construction
of the wall.
Discuss in brief China’s neighbors to the north, in particular the
Mongols and Manchus.
Preparing to Teach this Lesson
Background
The Great Wall of China was not constructed as a single project. It is made
up of numerous construction projects that were begun at different times, during
different dynasties and in different locations. Most of the early sections of
the construction fell into disrepair, or had even disappeared entirely, by the
fourteenth century when the Ming Dynasty came to power. The wall as it known
today is predominantly a product of the Ming Dynasty, which both repaired and
rebuilt older sections, and expanded the reach of the structure. The Ming Dynasty
structure can be seen from Hebei province to Gansu province. Beyond Gansu province
the wall becomes a series of watchtowers that stretch into Xinjiang province
and the Taklamakan desert.
The initial fortifications and the subsequent wall were both constructed to
slow the advance of invading forces that depended on cavalry—mounted horsemen
expert at using the bow and arrow. The initial constructions may have been designed
at least as much in response to internal strife as to exterior threats. Imperial
governments feared the possibility of disloyal Chinese bringing military technology
or other kinds of information to the northern nomadic tribes. As a result, the
construction of the wall was equal parts protection from outside invaders and
an attempt to keep the Chinese in China.
The Great Wall represented one solution to imperial China’s most long
term foreign policy problem. This problem rose from the need by China, as a
sedentary, agricultural empire to respond to the invasions by nomadic, tribal
peoples. Initially, this concern came to prominence with the rise of the Xiongnu
(shyong-new) Empire, which was based in present-day Mongolia. In later centuries
the Chinese would sustain attacks along the northern frontier from other peoples
residing to the north. Some of these groups even succeeded in conquering China,
such as the Mongols in the thirteenth century (ruling as the Yuan Dynasty 1279-1368),
and the Manchus (ruling as the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911).
The initial fortifications were begun in the 3rd century BCE, during the Qin
(pronounced Chin) Dynasty (221- 206 BCE). The fortifications begun during the
Qin dynasty were augmented and expanded during the Han dynasty (202 BCE- 220
CE) that followed. The final, and most comprehensive, period of construction
took place during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE). The Ming Dynasty extended
and strengthened the Great Wall in response to the earlier successes of the
Mongols. Early Ming rulers greatly feared the Mongols, whom they had toppled
in 1368. This fear was not without foundation: one fifteenth-century Ming emperor
was captured and held captive by the Mongols for a year.
The Ming Dynasty was overthrown by another people from beyond the northern
frontier: the Manchus. Over a number of decades, the Manchus prepared for the
conquest of China by learning the governing systems and skills of the Chinese
empire. In 1644, Manchu leaders took advantage of an internal rebellion that
destroyed the Ming, entering Chinese territory through one of the wall’s
gates. The Manchus established the Qing (pronounced Ching) Dynasty (1644- 1911),
China’s last dynasty.
Note: There are two transliteration systems for Mandarin Chinese.
This lesson uses the pin-yin system, however some of the internet sources
use the Wade-Giles system. In the Wade-Giles system Qin will be spelled Ch’in
and Qing will be spelled Ch’ing, however, they both refer to the same
period.
You may wish to begin by helping students to become familiar with the geography
of China and with Chinese place names. You can introduce students to China’s
geography by projecting or distributing a map
of China. Ask students to read the names of China’s provinces. You
may wish to distribute this
pronunciation chart that will help students to read through the unfamiliar
names.
Students can begin to grasp the size of the Great Wall as a construction
project by plotting the wall on a map of China using this web-based interactive
exercise. If students do not have access to individual computers the exercise
can be projected by the instructor, or students can use a print out of the
course of the Great Wall (zoom in on the map until the yellow course of
the wall becomes visible just north of Beigjing) available through the EDSITEment
reviewed web resource Internet Public Library
to plot the wall on the political
map of modern China available at AskAsia.
You may want to remind students that watchtowers stretched beyond the most
western reaches of the wall, even though they are not plotted on the map.
Discuss with students what the wall can tell us today about what China was
like in the past. You may wish to raise a number of study questions to begin
the discussion. These questions might include:
Why would the Chinese imperial court build such a wall?
How long might it have taken to build, and what kind of resources needed
to be devoted to the project? This discussion might focus on building
materials such as stone (which would need to be quarried), earth and brick,
and the armies of builders needed to construct such a massive structure.
What does the building of the wall tell us about the power of the Chinese
imperial court and its abilities to control human and other resources?
What does the building of the wall tell us about China’s relationship
with its northern neighbors?
You may wish to have students read a history
of the Great Wall that is available through the EDSITEment reviewed web
resource Internet Public Library. This reading
can be used either to help students answer study questions or to check their
hypotheses.
2. The Great Wall in History
There were two major periods of construction on the Great Wall, one during
the Qin and Han dynasties, and the second during the Ming dynasty. During
the first period the wall was not one extensive wall, but was rather numerous
shorter fortifications. By the time of the second period of major construction
during the Ming many of the original fortifications had fallen into complete
disrepair, or had even disappeared. You may want to introduce the Great Wall
to students by explaining that the idea of constructing walled fortifications
to protect towns and cities originated even before the Great Wall. In this
activity students will be asked to investigate the most important period major
construction on the wall: the Ming Dynasty.
Students can learn about the period by reading the brief
history of the Ming Dynasty available through the EDSITEment reviewed
web resource American Memory Project
(Library of Congress). The readings are short, however they do contain
challenging vocabulary. For classes of beginning students you may wish to
summarize the readings or complete the reading as a group. Once students have
read or heard these brief description of the Ming Dynasty they should be able
to complete this interactive quiz.
More advanced students can be directed to more in-depth
information on the Ming Dynasty (click on “contents” on each
page) available through the EDSITEment reviewed web resource Asia
for Educators. Once students have read these brief description of the
Ming Dynasty they should be able to complete this interactive quiz.
3. Howdy, Neighbor!
In the first activity of this lesson, students will be asked to think about
what the wall can tell us about China’s relationship with its northern
neighbors. In this activity students will learn more about who those neighbors
were and are.
The Great Wall that can be seen in
a photograph today, such as this photograph available through the EDSITEment
reviewed web resource Internet Public Library,
is almost entirely the Ming Dynasty construction project. While earlier dynasties
sought ways to protect their territory from their northern neighbors (such
as the Xiongu empire), protection from the Mongols, Manchus and other northern
neighbors was a particular concern during the Ming Dynasty.
Divide the students into small groups. List on the blackboard some factual
information on the size of the wall, such as the average height of the wall
(usually between 20 and 30 feet tall) and its length (around 1500 miles long).
Ask each group to work together to form a hypothesis about what the purpose
of the wall was.
Why do you think the wall was constructed?
Do you think the wall was an important public works project? Why?
What evidence can you find in the readings and in the facts presented
in class that support your hypothesis?
Groups should arrive at a conclusion about the purpose of the wall which
includes the need for protection. Returning to their maps students should
investigate the path of the wall and contemplate: protection from what and
from whom? What does this tell us today about the relationship between the
Ming Dynasty and its northern neighbors? Groups should work together to explain
what the wall tells us about this relationship.
Who was the wall meant to protect? From whom or what?
What does this tell us about China’s relationship with its northern
neighbors?
Next, ask students to look at the modern photographs of the wall provided
on the link above. While it would certainly be difficult, would it be impossible
for armies to climb over this wall? Do students think that the wall was constructed
only to keep out people, or was it designed to keep out something else? Is
it possible that the wall was meant to keep something or someone in? Ask student
groups to work together to imagine what else the wall may have been designed
to keep from passing into Ming territory. Introduce students to the Xiongnu,
about whom more information can be accessed through the EDSITEment reviewed
web resource Internet Public Library, and
to the history of some of the other peoples that inhabited the northern frontier.
As described above, two ethnic groups who successfully invaded China and
installed their own dynasties. The Yuan
Dynasty (1273-1368), which preceded the Ming Dynasty, was established
by the Mongols and was part of the great Mongol Empire that stretched across
Eurasia from the China Sea to the Middle East. The Qing
Dynasty (1644-1912), which followed the Ming Dynasty, was established
by invading Manchus. More information on these two dynasties can be found
through the EDSITEment reviewed web resource Internet
Public Library. Although the Mongols governed China for less than a
century, their rulers adopted many of the systems and structures of the traditional
Chinese emperors. In addition, because the Mongols were small in number, they
recruited people from all over the empire—including Arabs and Persians—to
perform tasks such as tax collection. The Manchu court was also adopted numerous
Chinese governing systems, and eventually even the Chinese language as the
main mode of communication, during the course of the Qing Dynasty. While the
Manchus worked diligently to maintain their separate cultural identity, this
influence of Chinese governing systems and language was so profound that today
there are only a handful of people who can still read the Manchu script.
While the wall may have kept invading armies at bay for more than two hundred
years during the Ming Dynasty, China eventually was ruled by the Manchus.
Was the wall successful or not?
The Mongols and Manchus who both took over the Chinese imperial court integrated
many fundamental aspects of Chinese culture into their courts rather than
impose their culture upon China.
While the Manchu and Mongolian takeovers of the imperial courts successful,
were they successful in maintaining their courts as Mongolian or Manchu
in identity?
Ask students to write a short, persuasive essay answering one of the above
questions.
Assessment
Students will become more familiar with Chinese geography by completing the
online mapping exercise or by inserting the path of the Great Wall on a printed
map.
Students will show their understanding of some of the basic characteristics
and events of the Ming Dynasty by successfully completing the online quiz.
Students will bring together what they have learned about the Great Wall, Chinese
history and China’s neighbors with their writing skills in writing a short
persuasive essay on either the Great Wall’s efficacy or the success of
the Manchu invasion.
Extending the Lesson
Students can read about China’s
ethnic minorities on the EDSITEment reviewed web resource AskAsia.
This essay gives a brief overview of four of China’s many ethnic minorities,
including the Mongols, Manchus, Naxi and Tibetans.